Spot Plays for Stephen Foster Day

The $600,000 Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) headlines a huge evening of racing at Churchill Downs on Saturday. A total of five graded races will be contested on the 11-race card and I have a few horses of interest that could yield dividends. Race 3 #2 LOOSE ON THE TOWN (4-1) got very little out of his 2018 campaign with a trio of unplaced efforts, two of which came on the Tapeta and one on the lawn. Prior to that, the son of Speightstown ran some huge races in 2017 against fine stakes performers, mainly on the dirt. Brian Lynch pupil was a close fourth in a deep local allowance last out and could shine second time off the shelf under Javier Castellano. Race 6 -- Wise Dan S. (G2) Mark Casse’s #11 MARCH TO THE ARCH (6-1) bit off a more than he could chew when a solid fifth in the Turf Classic (G1) here on Kentucky Derby Day and is a better fit against this type. Arch gelding was impressive in a seasonal debut at Tampa Bay Downs and I’m predicting a peak performance third off the bench. Race 8 -- Stephen Foster S. (G2) I think #8 KING ZACHARY (12-1) is sitting on a huge performance with the odds to match it. Curlin four-year-old turned in some notable performances on this oval last year and his Travers (G1) fourth behind a heavy speed bias was impressive. Now in the hands of Graham Motion, the chestnut can make a bold run in the stretch with Castellano. Race 9 -- Regret S. (G3) Motion-trained #4 VARENKA (4-1) faces a tall task coming off a maiden tally in a deep field of fillies. But, the Ghostzapper sophomore was runner-up in a pair of stakes events as a juvenile and finished fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) on a yielding Churchill Downs turf course. She recorded an ultra-impressive effort off the layoff last time, rallying into a soft pace and pulling away late, and can prove best off the tightener here. Race 11 I love having a horse in the get-out race and #5 SHORELY (5-1) looks the part to close out the card. Trained by Joe Sharp, the gelded son of First Samurai ran evenly in a turf dash with special weight foes on debut and drops in class while trying the dirt today. Four-year-old adds blinkers on the drop and worked swiftly on this main strip prior to his first offering. Adam Beschizza stays in the stirrups.